At an auction conducted by Dominic Winter in Swindon, Wiltshire on 19th July 2000, a rare item of Whitworth genealogy was sold. The details taken from their catalogue give:

Ephemera - Lot 322 - Genealogy

A fine and extensive family pedigree of the Whitworth Family of Whitworth Castle, near Spennymoor, Co. Durham, c. 1800, on a paper roll, decorates head but with some loss to the title at beginning, and an old repair, but in generally fine clear and legible condition, on a scroll of paper approximately 15.5in x 79 incs. A fine and extensive pedigree of an important noble family, who also held lands in Staffordshire, Shropshire and the East Midlands. the line commences with Richard de Whitworth, who died at the siege of Durham in 1346, and includes various notable members of the family including Richard Whitworth, who was an ancestor of Sir Oswald Moseley, Charles Whitworth, MP for Minehead, Somerset, and Richard Whitworth, MP for Stafford in 1760 and raised his own company of foot which saw service in Gibraltar. Each family member is contained in a neatly drawn circle with manuscript details written in a neat secretarial hand. A very attractive document which provides a wealth of local historical information. £70-100 (£135.00)

This pedigree has now been attributed to Sir Richard Whitworth (1734-1811) of Bratchacre Grange, MP for Stafford. It was completed in 1804 using genealogical notes collected by Sir Richard over a period of four years. It was intended for use by the Genealogist of the Bath George Nayler to compile a pedigree for Sir Charles, recently Lord Whitworth, to be recorded in the book of the Order of the Bath. The subsequent Nayler pedigree corrects some apparent errors in Sir Richard's version after 1580. Nayler failed to include any parts before 1580 of the pedigree in his version. It is very clear that some details before 1580 are questionable, as they contain important generation gaps. Research carried out in County Durham suggests that family names attributed to certain events are incorrect as named. Other family pedigrees that contain Whitworth entries disagree with some time-scales that are given (notably the Leggart and Stanton pedigrees). It has been confirmed that Richard de Whitworth and his son Thomas de Whitworth (not Alexander) were esteemed as Knights in campaigns against the Scots by both Edwards I and Edward II. There are still many aspects that need confirmation or correction.

The contents of both Sir Richard's and George Nayler's versions continue to supply extensive information connecting many scattered Whitworth families in the UK. They at present undoubtedly offer the only framework of Whitworth family ancestry in the UK and elsewhere. The authenticity of the information continues to be sought and will figure in the recent research findings section which can be accessed via the link.